Success in the Rose Garden: A Yearly Evaluation
It’s a pleasant sunny fall morning. You take your breakfast on the patio to
admire your rose garden. The morning
light shines down on your roses like a beacon.
As you sip your coffee and chew your food you ponder over the successes
and failures of your roses.
So, what is the measure of your success? Is it that you've had an abundance of flowers
to cut and enjoy? Is that you've managed
to prevent blackspot? Or is it a deeper
understanding of how your garden performs from season to season?
As our Rose Care Technicians prepare to evaluate our
customers’ gardens we think about what it takes to grow great roses. When I hear the words “fat bushes” from the
mouths of our techs I know it means that the rose bushes are huge and often
towering overhead, loaded with leaves and flowers from multiple canes which
stem from large crowns at the base. It
makes caring for roses seem like child’s play when there are few challenges to
overcome.
Our annual evaluation process has many facets. We determine the need for fertility and a
need to rework the bed area using our specially blended Witherspoon Premium Planting Mix for better overall growing performance. We look at whether or not trees are
inhibiting the growth in some way either by way of too much shade or by way of
the tree’s roots invading the bed area.
We also consider perpetual damage by deer, rabbits or voles to identify
the need for repellents or fencing.
These things are mostly environmental, and improvements can
be made to liven up the roses. Certainly
no one can argue that enriching the soil area in which the roses grow will be a
worthless effort. And no one can argue
that your roses will perform much better with more sun exposure. Even installing irrigation so the roses have
a regular water supply is time and money well spent for the result of thriving
roses. And finding ways to keep the
critters from eating that deliciously sweet flower bud means that the rose
remains yours and yours alone.
But what about the cultural tasks in the rose garden? What improvements will be made by yearly
pruning and removing the spent blooms regularly? Let’s begin with pruning. Pruning is a great way to rejuvenate the
rose’s growth allowing the canes to produce an abundance of flowers on the new
wood. This yearly task is vital to the
growth of your hybrid teas, grandifloras and floribundas.
Now let’s look at deadheading. During the active growing season the roses
put on their full display of color.
Their bloom cycle is on about a 30-35 day schedule. By removing the spent blooms you can aid the
regeneration process allowing your roses to perform at their peak. Hybrid teas, grandifloras and floribundas
respond very well to this treatment.
What are some other factors to contemplate when thinking
about evaluating your success? Let’s
consider that some roses simply might not be suitable to your growing
conditions. A particular rose may look
great in someone else’s yard, but it struggles in yours. There could be a host of reasons from soil to
fertility to overall general care. You
may have to acknowledge that it’s just time to get it out of the garden and try
a different rose. Fortunately, we have a
wide variety of roses to choose from in all manner of colors.
I think the most important aspect in determining your
success is the work you put into growing your roses. Take a honest look at your maintenance
schedule. For example, roses are heavy
feeders. Are you really using the right
kind of fertilizer at the right time of year?
When there’s no adequate rain, are you supplementing with the proper
amount of water? Are you actively
deadheading the roses to help them produce more? If the canes are spindly and weak should you
just throw in the towel on that particular rose or keep on fighting to get it
to do something? Is it finally time to
part ways with the unthrifty producers in the garden to trade them out for
better bushes?
It’s not easy to make the decision to remove roses,
especially if they have sentimental value.
Keep in mind this investment in your landscape is something you want to
show off, something to be proud of. The
reward is beautifully performing roses that you can enjoy and share with
others. So, putting in the effort is
well worth it.
Sincerely,
Sandie
Sincerely,
Sandie
